I have been trying to decide on which heads to buy for a sbc build for almost a year now. It's almost time for me to just finish this engine and put it into the car. First I will start with that I am building, what this engine is going into and what I am looking to get out of it...
The engine is a 355 that I pulled from a V8 S10 project I bought a few years ago. The engine had only around 200 miles on it but had crappy emissions heads on it (75cc's from an emissions truck crate motor of some sort). I pulled the heads to find out the pistons are TRW's (Speed Pro) L2256 .030 over Forged pistons. The pistons are supposed to have 9.72:1 compression ratio with 64 cc heads. Of course this all depends on how far down the piston is in the bore, gasket thickness, etc. As for how far down in the hole they are, I have no clue as I do not have the knowledge or tools to check this. Also I am not sure how well that compression would do on the street. The engine had a Comps Cam Magnum 270 cam in it which is too big for my needs.
Now for what I am looking to get out of the engine...
It's going into a 1963 Chevy II wagon which will be my daily driver and sleeper (grandma grocery getter). I want it to be comfortable, handle great but still smoke some local Mustangs and Camaros (ricer too).
I am looking for a reliable street motor to get decent fuel mileage out of it but still have decent power. How much fuel mileage I dont know but the best I can without it being a dog of a motor. Yes, I understand that I can't have both power and mileage but I believe 330-360 HP is not asking for too much with a 355. The wagon is VERY light (lighter than a little tuner car) so that is a plus. I am looking to push about 330-360 HP if possible and running a Q-Jet carb, HEI distributor, low RPM torquey cam, etc. Now the part I am unsure of are the heads. I do know that a Vortec style head has it's benefits for power and I would like some kind of fast burn head. I had my mind set on a pair of cast iron Vortecs but started thinking about going to an aluminum head...
As for money and how much to spend, I do not have $1800-$2000 to spend on heads and this is why I was looking at Vortecs. Do they make an aluminum Vortec head that is reasonably priced? I was looking at these: http://www.skipwhiteperformance.com/detail.aspx?Item=3303-CYL
Only reason I am thinking aluminum is for weight savings. The car is already light with a factory inline 6 (currently has 327 that I am pulling for a T bucket project) but with a sbc that should shave some weight as well as an aftermarket front clip and then aluminum heads on top of that will help even more.
Anyways, any opinions and information would be GREATLY appreciated here! I am sorry for typing so much, I just wanted to put out as much info as possible here to explain what I have and what I am looking for. I hope I am not asking for way too much out of this 355 build.
Thanks!
The engine is a 355 that I pulled from a V8 S10 project I bought a few years ago. The engine had only around 200 miles on it but had crappy emissions heads on it (75cc's from an emissions truck crate motor of some sort). I pulled the heads to find out the pistons are TRW's (Speed Pro) L2256 .030 over Forged pistons. The pistons are supposed to have 9.72:1 compression ratio with 64 cc heads. Of course this all depends on how far down the piston is in the bore, gasket thickness, etc. As for how far down in the hole they are, I have no clue as I do not have the knowledge or tools to check this. Also I am not sure how well that compression would do on the street. The engine had a Comps Cam Magnum 270 cam in it which is too big for my needs.
Now for what I am looking to get out of the engine...
It's going into a 1963 Chevy II wagon which will be my daily driver and sleeper (grandma grocery getter). I want it to be comfortable, handle great but still smoke some local Mustangs and Camaros (ricer too).
As for money and how much to spend, I do not have $1800-$2000 to spend on heads and this is why I was looking at Vortecs. Do they make an aluminum Vortec head that is reasonably priced? I was looking at these: http://www.skipwhiteperformance.com/detail.aspx?Item=3303-CYL
Only reason I am thinking aluminum is for weight savings. The car is already light with a factory inline 6 (currently has 327 that I am pulling for a T bucket project) but with a sbc that should shave some weight as well as an aftermarket front clip and then aluminum heads on top of that will help even more.
Anyways, any opinions and information would be GREATLY appreciated here! I am sorry for typing so much, I just wanted to put out as much info as possible here to explain what I have and what I am looking for. I hope I am not asking for way too much out of this 355 build.
Thanks!